Atop highest steeples
Of rocky cathedrals
Through eyes of an eagle I view
The vast plain of battle
Foreboding a slaughter
The destruction feared by us all.
A great swirling mist
Like a wave has engulfed
These ancient grounds of war.
Yet parted once more
By the winds it shows
A globe filled with evil turmoil.
Snuffed out like candles
These visions of fate
While silent darkness prevails.
A distant bright light
As it steadily grows
Sends a burning through heart and through soul.
The horrors of war
Of both present and past
Together before me unfold:
Mind splitting thunder
And flashes of steel -
A sun as radiant as hell.
Dust chokes the sky
And blood stains the seas;
My mind runs wild - uncontrolled.
A blinding flash!
A splintering crash -
Then earth, mountain and mind all explode.
Copyright© by Mark W. Vance 1974